Press Review

“Robert Kocharian has finally become a pensioner,” “Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun” writes in a commentary on the Prosperous Armenia Party’s decision to back President Serzh Sarkisian for reelection in a declaration signed on Thursday. “In essence, this is the only tangible result of the adoption of the coalition declaration and the BHK’s decision to support Serzh Sarkisian. One can therefore consider the standoff within the coalition to be over and conclude that although there has been no lack of those fanning tensions from the sidelines, the BHK made the correct choice.”

But as “Yerkir” contends, the coalition deal created “an extremely dangerous situation.” The Dashnaktsutyun paper is worried that “such a concentration of political power” in Sarkisian’s hands could fuel popular demand for the emergence of a new “spontaneous force.” “And who will benefit from that? Will we emerge from the elections with a reinforced statehood and a united people with greater faith in our country’s future?” it asks.

“Zhamanak” says the BHK has lost much of its political clout. The paper claims that BHK leader Gagik Tsarukian’s choice means that “one partisan entity has ceased to exist in the political arena.” It says the BHK now stands no chance of making a strong showing in next year’s parliamentary elections.

According to “Aravot,” only Sarkisian, Kocharian and Levon Ter-Petrosian could be in power in Armenia in the years to come. “The picture is quite grim because it means that in the last 20 years the Armenian people have given birth to no real presidential candidates other than these three persons,” editorializes the paper.

“Hayots Ashkhar” calls the coalition declaration “an interesting and weighty step” ahead of Armenia’s next parliamentary and presidential elections. The pro-establishment paper believes that it will shore up political stability and predetermine further political developments in the country.

“Armenian electricity is competitive but nobody needs,” writes “Kapital.” “Armenia is continuing to enhance its power-generating capacities in the hope of being able to export its electricity surplus one day. Experts say that Armenia is using only one-third of its energy potential. Although Armenia has for years been the only regional country with an electricity surplus, the country’s electricity has been exported only to Iran in the last several years. Neither Turkey, nor Georgia need Armenian electricity for political and other reasons.”